Matcha Tea Strainer Tin Details

Matcha and The Tea Ceremony

In the 12th century China had developed a new process which was better suited to the storage and transport of tea without it rotting. The process involved steaming, grinding and forming cakes of powdered tea. One would then break a bit off the cake to make tea. A visiting Buddhist monk, Eisai, traveled to China and brought back the powdered tea, seeds, and knowledge to support the preparation of the powered tea. Eisai is credited with the introduction of the tencha style of tea preparation, where hot water was added to the powdered tea, or matcha, and whipped into a thick froth. Integration with religious ritual and adoption by ruling classes drove the import of more tea plants from China and cultivation expanded further.

Over time, the Japanese Tea Ceremony, also known as The Way of Tea, chanoyu, chadō, or sadō, developed as a distinct ritual. Initially developed and performed by Buddhist monks, the ceremony has historically been performed by men. According to Etsuko Kato, author of The Tea Ceremony and Women’s Empowerment in Modern Japan, starting in the 20th century, wealthy women and doctors began learning about tea and practicing the ritual, and today about half of those practicing chadō are middle class women and housewives.